Washington, DC – New survey research announced today shows that local governments are now facing a fiscal crisis that will force job losses approaching 500,000 and significant cuts in much needed public services. Representatives from the National League of Cities (NLC), United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) jointly released the survey results at a press conference on Capitol Hill earlier today and were joined by several members of Congress offering their support to cities and counties during these difficult economic times.

Google has twice as much malware in its search results as Yahoo, Bing, and Twitter combined. That’s one of the findings in the Barracuda Labs 2010 Midyear Security Report, which will be presented tomorrow at the DEFCON 18 hacking conference tomorrow in Las Vegas.

Friday, July 30, 2010

MARK PANKO still gets riled when he recalls the two years he suffered with traditional dentures.

“They fell out when I talked,” Mr. Panko, 56, a small-business owner in Woodridge, Ill., recalled. “I couldn’t taste my food — in fact, I could hardly chew. It was the most miserable time of my entire life.”

Earlier this year, the editors of V, a magazine so recherché it can make Vogue seem like Redbook, published an issue featuring large models in expensive body-baring clothes. In one photograph, a woman in a strapless bathing suit, cut to reveal three rolls of flesh, grabs at her platform stilettos. In another, Tara Lynn, a size 16 model, is clad in nothing but a pair of Dior sandals.

Luxury-spending data can tell us a lot about the state of the nation—and our own neighborhoods.

Take Detroit—not the city where one might expect to see the strongest recovery. Yet when American Express Co. looked at luxury spending in top and midsize cities around the country, Detroit led the list, with growth of 18% in the first quarter of 2010 from the year-earlier quarter. Lo and behold, Ford stock is up, too, suggesting that Detroit's local investors are feeling more optimistic than they were when auto executives were driving hybrids down to Washington to beg for bailouts.

Salt AN, Hullar TE.
Department of Otolaryngology, Washington University School of Medicine

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

National Institutes of Health

A wind turbine is a rotary device with a gigantic propeller as big as a football field that turns in the wind to generate electricity. Although wind turbines are more often found in Europe than in the United States, they’re rapidly becoming more popular here as a “green” energy source. Most people consider that a good thing, except the rotors of wind turbines also generate noise, particularly in the infrasound range, that some people claim makes them feel sick.

THURSDAY, July 29 (HealthDay News) -- Even in so-called "good" neighborhoods, there's a significantly increased risk of violence if teens gather with nothing to do and no adult supervision, a new study suggests.

That was what my mother had said to my brother and me from time immemorial. Of course, we never carried out her wish, but at 98 — her mind still sharp, but her muscles failing (after several serious falls) — she reluctantly agreed to enter her worst nightmare: assisted living. Until her death at 100 last July, she was convinced that she had made a mistake.

The message from the 14-year-old Tunisian skateboarder was curt. “Totally wrong,” he said of my French. My conjugation was off and I should study spelling. On a scale of one to five, he said, my French practice essay was worth a one. Then he disappeared into the anonymity of the Internet.

NOVOROSSIYSK, Russia — One day last fall, a police officer here put on his uniform and sat on a drab tan couch before a video camera. In a halting monotone, he recorded two video appeals toVladimir V. Putin, 13 minutes in all.

Google Inc. is in talks with several makers of popular online games as it seeks to develop a broader social-networking service that could compete with Facebook Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

(Reuters) - Having good social relationships -- friends, marriage or children -- may be every bit as important to a healthy lifespan as quitting smoking, losing weight or taking certain medications, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The Barbie Video Girl Doll ($50, Mattel, for ages 6 and up) looks just like a regular Barbie, but a closer look reveals a camera in her pendant, and a postage-sized color screen on her back, peeking through her blouse.

(Reuters) - Educated people are better able to cope with the physical effects of dementia, and even one extra year of education can significantly cut the risk of developing the brain-wasting disease, scientists said on Monday.

Vitamin D promises to be the most talked-about and written-about supplement of the decade. While studies continue to refine optimal blood levels and recommended dietary amounts, the fact remains that a huge part of the population — from robust newborns to the frail elderly, and many others in between — are deficient in this essential nutrient.

If you fought with your sweetheart last night, does that mean that your relationship is on the rocks?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Research shows it's how we fight—where, when, what tone of voice and words we use, whether we hear each other out fairly—that's critical. If we argue poorly, we may end up headed for divorce court. Yet if we argue well, experts say, we actually may improve our relationship.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Fixing the hiccups of a home computer is an annoyance—lugging it to a store is time consuming and following directions over the phone can get frustrating. But a host of repair services say they solve computer woes by connecting virtually to your machine.

Judicial opinions in common law countries, like the United States, clarify and refine the law of the land. They consider weighty issues, weigh conflicting requirements and carry much weight among all who read them. Here are some opinions for your summer reading.

When Tara Rachel Benson went out on a recent night to an album release party in Los Angeles, she put on her makeup, a tight-fitting Herve Leger dress, stiletto heels—and a pair of padded panties. Slideshow "A History of Underwear."

The accident that killed Kathryn Underdown had all the markings of a drunken-driving case. The car that hit her as she rode her bicycle one May evening in Miller Place, N.Y., did not stop, the police said, until it crashed into another vehicle farther down the road.

The other day, a mortgage broker named Deb Killian called me, more or less out of the blue. Ms. Killian has been in the business since 1994. She and her husband run Charter Oak Lending Group, a small firm based in Danbury, Conn., that they founded in 1996. She is a member of the board of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. By her estimate, she has closed more than 3,500 loans during her career.

About This Site

Approximately 3-6 items get posted every day. Subjects range across the spectrum. Items are taken from the best sources including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, private sources and government publications. Click on the title for the full article. All items are stand alone so feel to read one or several any time you wish.

About Me

I have a B.A. in Political Science and a Master's Degree in Public Administration (M.P.A.) from Brigham Young University. In addition, I have a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Public Affairs from Virginia Tech. I just finished up another Master's degree. This one is in Library Science (M.L.S.) from Emporia State University in Kansas.
In my public administration studies I emphasized administrative ethics and administrative law. In library school I emphasized reference, especially using government documents and legal materials.